Illinois House Impeaches Gov. Rod Blagojevich

Illinois House Impeaches Gov. Rod Blagojevich
Friday, January 09, 2009
By Christopher Wills, Associated Press

Springfield, Ill. (AP) - The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly Friday to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an unprecedented action that sets up a Senate trial on whether he should be thrown out for allegedly trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat.

Impeachment required just 60 votes. The final result was 114-1.

Legislators accused the second-term Democratic governor of letting down the people of Illinois by letting ego and ambition drive his decisions.

"It's our duty to clean up the mess and stop the freak show that's become Illinois government," said Rep. Jack D. Franks, a Democrat.

Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on federal charges that include allegations he schemed to profit from his power to name Obama's replacement in the Senate. The criminal complaint included an FBI agent's sworn affidavit describing wiretaps that caught Blagojevich allegedly talking about what he could get for the seat, how to pressure people into making campaign contributions and more.

That arrest triggered impeachment hearings by a special House committee.

The committee on Thursday unanimously recommended impeachment based on the criminal charges but other allegations as well - that Blagojevich expanded a health care program without proper authority, that he circumvented hiring laws to give jobs to political allies, that he spent millions of dollars on foreign flu vaccine that he knew wasn't needed and couldn't be brought into the country.

"The citizens of this state must have confidence that their governor will faithfully serve the people and put their interests before his own," the committee's report said. "It is with profound regret that the committee finds that our current governor has not done so."

Blagojevich has denied the criminal charges. He criticized the House impeachment process as biased and said a Senate trial would produce a different result.

But he didn't testify before the House impeachment committee and hasn't offered an explanation for the federal charges.

"His silence in this great matter is deafening," said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat.

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/a ... rcID=41759

Blobobitch was just on Fox news. It looked like he filled the stage with what looked like alot of homeless people and illegal aliens. All these people looked like they were rushed in for his speech because they were just taking off their coats. I guess he was using them as examples of something he accomplished. :? Then he bragged on and on about what he had done for Illinois for a half an hour. He ranted on and on but said little about being impeached. What an idiot. :roll:

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Impeachment required just 60 votes. The final result was 114-1.

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They must have some serious evidence against him.

I remember the Bill Clinton impeachment votes and they were split along party lines with one or two exceptions.

Dixie

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The committee on Thursday unanimously recommended impeachment based on the criminal charges but other allegations as well - that Blagojevich expanded a health care program without proper authority, that he circumvented hiring laws to give jobs to political allies, that he spent millions of dollars on foreign flu vaccine that he knew wasn't needed and couldn't be brought into the country.

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Well our governor in North Carolina gave his wife, I think, a two hundred thousand dollar pay raise.

Is there any oversight of our taxpayer money?

Good! The arrogant SOB deserves it! Now that his political career is down the tubes-he can join the ranks of millions of Americans who are out of work! :evil: :twisted:

It's too bad that most of our government is not impeached for treason........including our President elect.

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Originally Posted by SicNTiredInSoCal

Good! The arrogant SOB deserves it! Now that his political career is down the tubes-he can join the ranks of millions of Americans who are out of work! :evil: :twisted:

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Watch obama just go ahead and hire him on :roll:

Knowing the both of them, they won't see this as a bad thing, just an opprotunity for career advancement :roll: :roll: